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Mankind, by the perverse depravity of their nature, esteem that which they have most desired as of no value the moment it is possessed, and torment themselves with fruitless wishes for that which is beyond their reach.

Francois Fenelon

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Francois Fenelon
Age: 63 †
Born: 1651
Born: August 6
Died: 1715
Died: January 7
Catholic Priest
Clergyman
Cleric
Philosopher
Poet
Theologian
Writer
François de Salignac de La Mothe- Fénelon
Fénelon
Phenelon
Franz von Fenelon
Francis Fenelon
abbé de Fénélon
François Fénelon
François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon
Depravity
Value
Perverse
Mankind
Desired
Beyond
Torment
Values
Wishes
Moment
Possessed
Wish
Esteem
Moments
Fruitless
Nature
Reach

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There is nothing that is more dangerous to your own salvation, more unworthy of God and more harmful to your own happiness, than that you should be content to remain as you are.
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God has not chosen to save us without crosses as He has not seen fit to create men at once in the full vigor of manhood, but has suffered them to grow up by degrees amid all the perils and weaknesses of youth.
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Let gratitude for the past inspire us with trust for the future.
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We are not to choose the manner in which our blessings shall be bestowed.
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The gifts of God are not to be rejected on account of the channel that brings them.
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Real friends are our greatest joy and our greatest sorrow. It were almost to be wished that all true and faithful friends should expire on the same day.
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The great point is to renounce your own wisdom by simplicity of walk, and to be ready to give up the favor, esteem, and approbation of every one, whenever the path in which God leads you passes that way.
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As long as anything in this world means anything to you, your freedom is only a word. You are like a bird that is held by a leash you can only fly so far.
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Nothing will make us so charitable and tender to the faults of others, as, by self-examination, thoroughly to know our own.
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As to our friend , I pray God to bestow upon him a simplicity that shall give him peace . Happy are they indeed who can bear their sufferings in the enjoyment of this simple peace and perfect acquiesence in the will of God.
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Had we not faults of our own, we should take less pleasure in complaining of others.
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The realization of God's presence is the one sovereign remedy against temptation.
Francois Fenelon
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Frequently a big advantage can be gained by knowing how to give in at the right moment.
Francois Fenelon
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In the light of eternity we shall see that what we desired would have been fatal to us, and that what we would have avoided was essential to our well-being.
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There are two principal points of attention necessary for the preservation of this constant spirit of prayer which unites us with God we must continually seek to cherish it, and we must avoid everything that tends to make us lose it.
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True piety hath in it nothing weak, nothing sad, nothing constrained. It enlarges the heart it is simple, free, and attractive.
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It is better to die than to tell a lie
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When you come to be sensibly touched, the scales will fall from your eyes and by the penetrating eyes of love you will discern that which your other eyes will never see.
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It is often our own imperfection which makes us reprove the imperfection of others a sharp-sighted self-love of others
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We must avoid fastidiousness neatness, when it is moderate, is a virtue but when it is carried to an extreme, it narrows the mind.
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